Reason #2569: I found the part where Moltke implies Frederik wanted to marry his daughter.
On this joyous and happy occasion the most illustrious had given me the Elephant Order* and made already mentioned propositions to me, which however, as already happened (mentioned?), were refused and forbidden by me. Likewise, before the wedding, it pleased His Majesty to make another another extremely important and, to someone led by vanity, advantageous recommendation to me, which, God be praised, I in the deepest humility refused. My family would thereby be made happy for a time, but also be envied and persecuted by many people, and, in the end, become unhappy. I see it as an especially grace of the Almighty that he had given me the strength and courage to avoid this extremely gracious but also extremely dangerous favor.
* Mildred note: It always makes me laugh, but the Elephant Order in Denmark is serious business! I guess having your order named after a Golden Fleece or especially a garter is objectively more ridiculous, I'm just used to those!
Yeah, Moltke, I can see a number of ways this could go wrong:
- Alienate the other nobility and ruin that tightrope you're walking you're walking as a powerful royal favorite.
- Denmark has to pass up a better political alliance, like having a queen related to Fritz instead of to Some Dude from Mecklenburg.
- Your daughter has to watch her husband cheat on her.
- Your daughter gets an STD.
- Your daughter gets abused by an alcoholic with anger management issues.
- Your daughter and Frederik don't actually get along, and you get stuck in the middle.
- Your daughter and Frederik don't actually get along, and Frederik blames you.
And what would Moltke gain from this marriage alliance? Literally nothing except vanity, as far as I can tell. Normally I would accuse him of being disingenuous there, but in this case, he really has everything he wants. It can only go downhill from here.
But you may notice Moltke doesn't actually say anything about marriage, which is why Holm says "clearly implies." The editor of Moltke's memoirs adds a footnote:
Count Moltke here, as elsewhere in the memoirs, does not want to say or speak plainly. What he is referring to, however, must have been the king's idea of marrying a daughter of the count himself. This I have from what I believe to be the best possible source. According to the age conditions, the daughter cannot have been anyone other than Count Moltke's eldest daughter Catherine Sophie Wilhelmine, born October 14, 1737, and she was also married to Count Hannibal Wedel-Wedelsborg at an unusually early age, hardly 14 3/4 years old, on June 16, 1752, i.e. about a month before the king's marriage. He died at a young age as Privy Councilor and Master of the Court to Princess Sophie Magdalene.
And that, cahn, being married off at 14 3/4 years because your dad is the king's BFF and the king wants to be related to him, is Reason #2569 Why You Am Glad You Did Not Live in the Past. Especially with Two X Chromosomes.
In this case, maybe it's not so bad that her husband died young? Widows had it pretty good in these societies, as such things go.
Okay, geni.com says the husband was born in November 1731, so "only" 6 years older than her. I was afraid it was more! And he died at age 34 in 1766, meaning she was widowed after 12 years of marriage, at age 26.
Oof, she gets pregnant in less than a year, though, and has 4 kids: 1753, 1755, 1760, 1762. So she's a widow with a bunch of kids on her hands.
But she lives to be 68, dying only in 1806. Let's hope something worked out for her in that time.
Speaking of Moltke and his kids, though, he got married in 1735, and I totally predicted his oldest son's name...*drumroll*...Christian Frederik! These people are so predictable. (You may notice/appreciate how consistent I've been about spelling Frederik the Danish way. At one point, Oettinger has to write, "Friedrich--I speak now of Friedrich V of Denmark, not Friedrich II of Prussia...")
Less predictable: young Moltke married when he didn't have a lot of money (although apparently his wife's father did, so that helped), after a 7-year engagement. That means he must have gotten engaged around 17 or 18, married as soon as he could, remained married 25 years, then got married again in about 4 months after his wife died, and remained married until he died. Producing 22 kids in that time. This was an extremely married man!
So here's the other thing. We all know Frederik didn't want to get married. I've read in a number of places that the remarriage was extremely unpopular with the Danish population at large, because Louise had been really popular (she was friendly! learned Danish and taught her kids Danish! no one had ever done that before!) and they thought it was in bad taste.
Moltke's official reason was "for the good of the state," but all my secondary sources say "because the nobles wanted to get Frederik under control."
But, like, they tried Operation Get Frederik Under Control Via Marriage, and it didn't work the first time! What makes anyone think it's going to work any better the second time? (Spoiler: it doesn't.)
So really, the only reasons I can think of that this remarriage makes sense is:
1. Operation Be Related to Someone Powerful, like Fritz
2. That statement in Moltke's memoirs where he (paraphrasing from memory) thanks God for sending him a second wife to comfort him so soon after his first wife's death.
I kind of suspect the real driver here is Moltke's deep emotional conviction that remarriage is the best thing for you, which he rationalized as "But who doesn't want to be related to Fritz three different ways??"
Selena, I'm going to read Hartmann, but you know how slow and easily distracted I am--do you remember how Bernstorff the anti-Prussian foreign minister felt about this marriage?
Also, I just want to say that someone I was reading today, maybe Holm, maybe Oettinger, said that Juliana Maria is to be praised for not joining a conspiracy with Fritz to overthrow Bernstorff, because she could so easily have done that.
Okay, with luck I sleep more tonight and have actual concentration tomorrow and can go back to proper German and French practice and stop rambling at everyone about my latest Danish obsession. I have German to read! [ETA: Yes, of course I've been reading German today, but it makes a difference when it's for practice rather than detective work.] Philippe the Badly Combed wants to know what happened to French! Eugene is sad at his neglect.
Edited 2023-02-19 00:25 (UTC)
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
Louise had been really popular (she was friendly! learned Danish and taught her kids Danish!
Again with the Caroline connection: reminder that Louise's mother won hearts and minds by learning English even before Anne died, back when everyone was still in Hannover, making her husband learn English, and making her children learn English (including poor absent Fritz of Wales in Hannover, who had it on his teaching schedule). All of which made her way more popular than her father-in-law G1. Louise came from a family which did have the experience of ruling over a country with a different native language.
do you remember how Bernstorff the anti-Prussian foreign minister felt about this marriage?
No, unfortunately I don't.
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
I think also the Elephant Order is funny because... I don't think of Denmark as really being a place where I'd expect to see elephants, or orders relating to the same! Whereas garters are intrinsically more ridiculous but at least they seem like they belong a bit more :)
And that, [personal profile] cahn, being married off at 14 3/4 years because your dad is the king's BFF and the king wants to be related to him, is Reason #2569 Why You Am Glad You Did Not Live in the Past. Especially with Two X Chromosomes.
YEEEEEAH. I feel like it's so sad when we learn that these past women have a horrible terrible no-good life but at the same time it's all "but XX had a near escape! Just listen to what her life COULD have been like if it had gone down this path instead!"
You may notice/appreciate how consistent I've been about spelling Frederik the Danish way.
haha, I have appreciated this!
1. Operation Be Related to Someone Powerful, like Fritz
Wait, isn't that the usual reason for nobility to get married?
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
I think also the Elephant Order is funny because... I don't think of Denmark as really being a place where I'd expect to see elephants, or orders relating to the same! Whereas garters are intrinsically more ridiculous but at least they seem like they belong a bit more :)
Well, it's not like the Golden Fleece was at home in Burgundy. :) Also the Order of the Garter gets the price for best motto with Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense, supposedly what Edward III' said while picking up the garter of the not his wife lady he was dancing with. But "Order of the Elephant" made me smile as well, and I am curious which Dane thought to name it like that - or was it something the Oldenburgs came up with, in which case, which German?
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
It's hard to say from Wikipedia whose *idea* it was, but it's old, almost as old as the Order of the Golden Fleece:
A predecessor order called the Brotherhood of the Mother of God Society was founded by King Christian I around 1460 and sanctioned by the Pope. Because this brotherhood was active in ecclesiastical areas, the king had the order confirmed by bulls from Popes Pius II (1462) and Sixtus IV (1474). At that time the image of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child hung on the chain of the order, while the chain showed elephants and towers.
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
I think also the Elephant Order is funny because... I don't think of Denmark as really being a place where I'd expect to see elephants, or orders relating to the same!
You're right! I wouldn't bat an eye at an Elephant Order in India.
Wait, isn't that the usual reason for nobility to get married?
Yes, but not usually a reason for them to get remarried within 6 months when they already have an heir! I can only think of one other example where a king's remarriage happened that fast (Selena will probably think of more), and it was Philip "the Frog" V, who was incapacitated and needed a wife to be his Moltke: 24/7 emotional support and go-between with the ministers.
Joseph, Philippe d'Orleans, Friedrich I of Prussia...all these people needed heirs and *still* took over a year to remarry. It was considered in bad taste for Frederik to remarry so quickly, and wasn't good PR for him or Juliana Maria.
There wasn't a huge amount of pressure at this time for Frederik to be related to someone ASAP, and the marriage to Juliana Maria didn't bring huge immediate advantages to Denmark's neutrality policy. I suspect the reasons were more internal and personal, not foreign policy related.
Wait, I just remembered Paul of Russia: he needed an heir and was pressured into remarrying in 5 months. But there was no question why: Catherine needed to stabilize her position on the throne by ensuring the succession. Having a spare for Frederik was nice, but not nearly this urgent (as it wasn't for Philip V either.)
Agreed that remarrying within a few months even with the pressure of needing an heir was seen as unusual/distateful and always remarked upon. Mind you, all those Western nobles and Kings at least could remarry without creating a major ruckus with the Church. Because one of those differences between the Eastern Church and the Western Church even before the great Schism was that for the later, even second marriages were side-eyed and regarded as distateful and only to be performed in dire, completely heir-less situations for monarchs (and not at all, preferably, for non-monarchs); third marriages were a sin you needed a special clerical indulgence for, and any more marriages were just out of the question and illegal. Now, obviously, in the West, this wasn't an issue. Charlemagne was married five times, and the Popes didn't blink. Meanwhile, in Constaninople, there's the (in)famous case of Leo IV "The Wise", who scandalized his (Eastern) contemporaries by marrying the sinful four times in order to produce an heir, thus causing the earlier mentioned almighty ruckus with the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Mind you, Leo was unorthodox in other ways, too, starting with his unclear parentage.
Basil I: Hi, I'm the founder of a new dynasty, starting out a lowly but handsome peasant in Macedonia. When I came to court, I caught the eye of Emperor Michael III., who liked me so much he ordered me to marry his favourite mistress. I convinced Michael my uncle Bardas, who'd brought me to court, was actually after his crown, and we killed him together. Fun times. Now, my least favourite kid Leo was born during those years, and may not have been my kid at all but Michael's, something no one was ever clear on, due to my wife having sex with us both. Anyway, Michael sadly was starting to favor another guy, and being a long term strategist with ambition, I couldn't have that, so I offed Michael and the annoying other guy and set up shop for myself. That's why my dynasty is called the Macedonian dynasty. Though newer research favours the theory we were actually Armenians. In any event: I ruled. I also couldn't stand my maybe not kid Leo, who was the bookish type and just annoying, and would have prefered to make unquestioningly-my-kid Alexander, my younger boy, my successor, so I raised him to be my Caesar and Co-Emperor. I was about to blind Leo to ensure Alexander wouldn't get trouble, but the Patriarch talked me out of it. Shows how much he knew. Then I died in the aftermath of a hunting accident, and wouldn't you know it, Leo reburied Michael with great ceremony in the Imperial Mausoelon basically the moment I closed my eyes. I knew it!
Leo IV: I kept on brother Alexander as my Co-Emperor, though I didn't give him any power. Still: no castration, no blinding, is what I'm saying. I was a fraternally minded guy in general, like the time I made my other younger brother John at age 19 Patriarch of Constantinople, firing the previous Patriarch for all the fuss he made about my marriages. But to tell things in order, my wives were:
1.) Theophano Martinakia: Dad made me marry her. So of course, I couldn't stand her. (Hi Fritz! Hi, Heinrich!) The relationship between us being what it was. We had a daughter, so shortly after I made it to the throne, I made he retire into a nunnery. This, I'll have you know, is an absolutely valid reason to dissolve a marriage. (Hi, Peter the Great!). I then married:
2.) Zoe Zaoutzaina: My true love. (The first one.) She had been my mistress for years by the time I dissolved my first marriage and married her. Now, some sources say I married her again after Theophano M. died in that nunnery, and some say I didn't, but I certainly demanded everyone treat her as the Empress, so chances are I considered us married. In any event, we sadly had only daughters. This left me with an obvious problem when Zoe died. Which brings me to:
3.) Eudokia Baiana. My beloved Zoe died in May 899, and I married Eudokia in the spring of 900, so yeah, only a few months. But that wasn't what got people's feathers ruffled. Third marriages were considered illegal as a rule, but I went down on my knees to the Patriarch, pointing out that brother Alex really wouldn't cut it as sole Emperor, and he said yes to Eudokia. Within a year, she got pregnant and delivered a boy. Alas, this son lived only for a few days, and she died as well. You can see my ongoing problem. Not least because people said that clearly, my second marriage had already been sinful, not to mention the third, and God was punishing me by refusing me a living son. Well, I disagreed. Which brings me to:
4.) Zoe Karbonopsina. My true love (the second one.) No one knows when I met my second beloved Zoe, but around 905, we already had been an item for years. That's when she gave birth to a living son at the end of the year, whom I, clearly stating my intentions, named Constantine. You can see why I just had to marry her in January 906, thus legitimizing little C. Now I had to raise hell till the Patriarch agreed to baptize little C, but he straight out refused to marry me to Zoe, so I fired him and got my own pet priest to marry us. We lived happily and controversially ever after till I died in 912, but I'm sure you want to know what happend to Zoe, because my girl proved to be an Imperial badass.
Alex - remember my half brother Alex, technically my Co-Emperor all this time? - became the senior Emperor upon my death, little C still being a young child. Alex instantly recalled the previously fired Patriarch, and locked up my Zoe in a nunnery. Where she didn't stay long. Alex promptly blundered politically with the Bulgars and the Arabs simultanously and died within the year, in 913. My girl Zoe came back and claimed the regency. Now the Patriarch wanted to be Regent himself, made the Senate swear they'd never recognize her as Empress, and locked her up on a nunnery again. But Zoe did not take this lying down. She organized an overthrow of the Patriarch as Regent within a year, in 914, and made him publically recognize her as Empress and sole Regent in exchange for letting him stay Patriarch, and, you know, alive. That's when he caved, recognized her and, oh yeah, our marriage. Did I have great taste in Zoes or what?
Agreed that remarrying within a few months even with the pressure of needing an heir was seen as unusual/distateful and always remarked upon.
When you think you're a frog, exceptions are made. ;) (The reason apparently given by historians was that Philip was so uxorious because he had a strong sex drive and was too pious to cheat on his wife, but I'm with Kamen, who understands a thing or two about mental illness and says the guy was dependent on his wives for emotional support. Frederik, and Denmark I guess, are lucky Moltke had such robust health and outlived Frederik (by 26 years)).
It is rather tempting to be touched by reading *all* the letters where Frederik keeps saying he will belong to Moltke until his death/the grave/his last sigh, that only death will separate them, etc., and to realize that he kept his word: he wanted Moltke there for his final operation, and died in his arms. If only dysfunction hadn't accounted for so much of that!
(I have an AU where he gets to abdicate and go be part of the Weasley Moltke family, and somehow that makes things better (via magic :P).)
Did I have great taste in Zoes or what?
You did! I didn't know this story at all, thanks for passing it on. One day I will study Byzantine history, and then I'll have all these lovely write-ups to refresh myself on that will be very helpful.
Huh, I did not know that about the Eastern church! And I loved your Basil and Leo writeup :D
Now, my least favourite kid Leo was born during those years, and may not have been my kid at all but Michael's, something no one was ever clear on, due to my wife having sex with us both.
Wow!
Zoe Zaoutzaina: My true love. (The first one.)
Heeee!
That's when she gave birth to a living son at the end of the year, whom I, clearly stating my intentions, named Constantine.
Heh. I mean, presumably it could be the other way around, right? That maybe he thought God was punishing him too, but clearly when he actually did get a living son, he would have been like, "....or maybe not!"
She organized an overthrow of the Patriarch as Regent within a year, in 914, and made him publically recognize her as Empress and sole Regent in exchange for letting him stay Patriarch, and, you know, alive. That's when he caved, recognized her and, oh yeah, our marriage.
Michael: My Dad died when I was two years old, so yes, I was another child Emperor. My mother Theodora, yes, another one - look, I can't help it if lots of Byzantine Empresses are named after THE Theodora, if they're not called Theophano instead - and the Eunuch Theokistos ruled for me during the first decade plus a few years. Early on, Mom's brother Bardas made a play, but she kicked him out of the regency council; keep your eyes on Uncle Bardas. Anyway, When I was 15, Mom knew the end of the regency was fast approaching, and wanted to marry me off while she still could select my bride. Because she couldn't stand my beloved Eudokia Ingarina. who, yes, was my mistress already. The bride Mom chose for me was also called Eudokia (Dekapolitissa) - I know, I know - , and yeah, couldn't stand her. Teenage me had it with Mom, then, and Uncle Bardas told me the way to a free life was to overthrow her and her Eunuch and install him as Regent. Okay, says I, and he kills Theokistos, kicks Mom out of the palace and becomes my right hand man.
Now, my image after this point was created by my successor who had to justify my demise and his own act and paid historians to present me as a useless drunk, with his historians borrowing entire descriptions of Nero and Mark Antony to describe me, and saddling me with the moniker "The Drunkard". More modern historians, however, have adopted my cause and point out that contemporary Arab and Bulgar chroniclers describe me as an active Emperor instead. Basically, they think I took over Mom's job and Uncle Bardas took over that of Theokistos. He was an A plus general, and while I was with him in the field a few times, I mostly remained in Constantinople. I won't deny I loved visiting the hippodrome and partying, but I'll have you know the Empire kept florishing and recovering from the humilation conga that had been the original Caliphate establishing. It wasn't all due to Uncle Bardas!
So here I am, enjoying the occasional trip the Hippodrome and party and my darling Eudokia Ingarina, when I meet this total hunk from Macedonia, though modern historians think he might have been Armenian instead. Despite all that happened: Basil was ripped, is what I'm saying. Also really charming. We first bonded over horses, and then he became my bff and favourite person and rapidly rose through the ranks. By which I mean that I first made him Master of the Horse, and then when my chamberlain died, I made him Chamberlain instead.
Now, usually the Chamberlains were all eunuchs, for the simple reason that they lived with the Imperial family in their living quarters, and often next to or in the Emperor's bedroom. Their title, literally translated, means "he who sleeps at the side". Basil was the first non-Eunuch in the job since I don't know when, and I could hardly castrate such a fine specimen, could I? I was just happy to have him with me. As to the inevitable question: Basil's historians had a mighty problem later on. On the one hand, they were paid to trash talk me, so of course they insinuated I had an eye for the boys as well as the girls. On the other hand, they couldn't do more than insinuate because the guy I was absolutely closest to was their new boss, and thus they insisted our relationship was completely and utterly straight because he couldn't possibly have a gay thought in his life. You should see their contortions when it comes to how I married Basil to my darling Eudokia Ingarina. Because see, if they said Basil and darling Eudokia did not have sex until I died, they slandered the paternity of Basil's oldest sons. If they said Basil and Eudokia did have sex in our years together, they implied Basil was fine with his wife having sex with me, and it's not far from there to the idea of a threesome, even for monks writing history. Me? I say they were my two favourite people, and I just loved being close to them.
So while this was going on, Uncle Bardas kept sideeying the situation, and said I should name him Caesar, what with me not having a legitimate son. Basil said this meant he had it in for me. Would Basil lie to me? We then did this master plan where I made Uncle Bardas feel save by appointing him Caesar, and then, when he thought he was safe, Basil offed him. Don't look at me like that, Uncle Bardas was the one who had convinced me to kick Mom out and off Theokistos back in the day. Just, next thing you know Basil, who was a few years older than me, says I should adopt him and make him Caesar instead. Historians are divided as to why I did that, what with the Bardas precedent. The older ones think I was just that dumb. The more recent ones have this theory that since I was still married to the other, unloved Eudokia whom I couldn't stand, and my beloved Eudokia now kept giving birth to sons, I had to do something to ensure that those sons would be able to become royal princes and in the long term able to succeed me. Hence the Basil adoption and elevation of him to Caesar. And then there are always those who think Basil was just that sexy.
You can see where this is going, I guess. The exact circumstances of Basil deciding it was time for the ultimate step are controversial again. Later the official story was that I was eyeing another fave and when in my cups told Basil that hey, I could just as easily make him Caesar, and Basil decided it was time to act. But thing is, while everyone assumes this guy got killed as well, no one can agree as to his name. Be that as it may, Basil got me drunk and to bed, as my chamberlain made sure there were no guards posted at my bedchamber, showed up with some thugs and killed me. Gruesomeley. My hands were cut off first and then I got the literal stab in the heart after having already received the proverbial one. I was only 27 years old, and had reigned in name since I was 2. Because I had made Basil Caesar already, he automatically succeeded me and didn't even have to talk the Patriarch into crowning him, what with him already consecrated. And then, as a final indignity, he didn't have me buried with the other imperial bodies but in a minor monastery. This just changed when Leo became Emperor and had me reburied properly.
So was Leo my son? Impossible to know. I mean, you could assume Basil and darling Eudokia Ingerina had no sex and then we'd all have known he and two other brothers of his were my kids, but in that case: how come my darling and I did not have a single baby together in the ten years BEFORE Basil the hunk entered my life? She only started to become pregnant, a lot, once Basil was with us in the imperial bedchamber. (Hi, Gustav!) Mind you, I don't blame Leo if he wanted to think he was my kid rather than Basil's, what with how his own relationship with Basil turned out. Sorry to say that my former hunky bff and killer might have made a competent Emperor, but a lousy dad to Leo. What with him having to be talked out of blinding the kid in favour to disqualify him from the throne. Basil even thought Leo was somehow responsible for his hunting accident, at least that's what he said on his deathbed. Sorry not sorry if that's the case, Basil. I really thought we had something!
Speaking of: no historian ever, and certainly no chronicler in Basil's pay, bothered to find out what my darling Eudoxia Ingarina thought of all of this. Remember, she kept being married to Basil as his Empress and gave birth to some more kids, so clearly they didn't stop having sex. Was she secretly hating every minute? Was she pragmatic and thought, better Empress than mourning my memory in some nunnery? Had she conspired with him, and I really hope that's not the case, seeing as to how we were together since I was a young teen and I would have married her back then if Mom hadn't made me marry the other Eudokia? I shall never know, and neither will you. Cheers!
Despite all that happened: Basil was ripped, is what I'm saying.
LOLOLOLOL
Because see, if they said Basil and darling Eudokia did not have sex until I died, they slandered the paternity of Basil's oldest sons. If they said Basil and Eudokia did have sex in our years together, they implied Basil was fine with his wife having sex with me, and it's not far from there to the idea of a threesome, even for monks writing history.
WOW
And then there are always those who think Basil was just that sexy.
Heh!
And then, as a final indignity, he didn't have me buried with the other imperial bodies but in a minor monastery. This just changed when Leo became Emperor and had me reburied properly.
Ah! Now I connect that with Leo's ascension that you talked about in the previous writeup :)
but in that case: how come my darling and I did not have a single baby together in the ten years BEFORE Basil the hunk entered my life? She only started to become pregnant, a lot, once Basil was with us in the imperial bedchamber.
... UM. Wow!
But also, I thought you had suggested that Basil thought he was Michael's kid... although maybe it's just that he wasn't sure!
Aw Eudoxia Ingarina. Yeah, it would be really interesting to find out what all these people thought.
But also, I thought you had suggested that Basil thought he was Michael's kid... although maybe it's just that he wasn't sure!
Unless we're assuming Eudokia and Basil did not have sex as long as Michael was still alive, I don't think there's any way anyone could have known who the father of those children born during that time was, including Eudokia. I mean, it's not like the Byzantines could have done a blood test. In any event, the general assumption in Constantinople gossip was that Michael was the bio dad, but the problem with this, as Robin the podcaster points out, is that Michael and Eudokia Ingerna had been having a sexual relationship for ten years before Basil's arrival on the scene, and did not have a child. Nor did Michael have a child with anyone else. (Not just his unwanted wife.) Which would argue for Basil as the bio dad. But then again, unlikely things do happen, and maybe Michael's semen had a low fertility but it finally worked during the Basil era. In any event, like I said, there was no way to be sure if Eudokia was sleeping with both of them, which it looks like she was.
Mind you: Basil was the legal father of the following sons, and let's compare and contrast his behavior towards them:
1) Constantine (died young; we don't know who his mother was, as she does not get named in the primary sources, but the asusmption is it was Basil's first, pre coming to Constantinople wife from ye olde Macedonia days); Constantine was supposed to be Basil's successor in the first few years of Basil's reign, he made hm Caesar, and then young Constantine died. The next oldest son was:
2.) Leo the future Emperor, definitely the son of Eudokia and ?. Famously bookish (wrote poetry, lectures, legal commentary etc.); Basil's behavior towards him comes across as the Byzantium version of FW and Fritz. Tried not to have him as his successor. This, btw, is why Leo never was on campaign with his dad as a boy, and had two years of house arrest as a teenager after having been accused of conspiring against his father.
3.) Stephen (Eudokia was pregnant with him when Michael got murdered, so he's another one whose paternity has a question mark): Basil had him castrated and dedicated to the church as a baby. This was the first time an Emperor did this to his own legal son. (Doing it to either bastards or other people's sons had precedent, with the goal of preventing them from ever claiming the throne. Here of course it also had the double purpose, since presumably Stephen was supposed to be not just a simple monk but have a career in the church.) This was the brother whom Leo later made Patriarch of Constantinople after firing the previous Patriarch.
4.) Alexander (born years after Michael's death, thus definitely Basil's son. Basil loved him and made him Caesar after Constantine had kicked the bucket).
Now that certainly makes it look like Basil thought Constantine and Alexander were his kids and Leo and Stephen were not, so I don't blame the majority of Byzantines for assuming the same. Otoh, see above re: Michael not siring any children with anyone before Basil appeared on the scene.
What learning about this taught me: am I glad FW wasn't a Byzantine Emperor. I don't know who'd have gotten castrated if he'd been one, but someone would have been...
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Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
On this joyous and happy occasion the most illustrious had given me the Elephant Order* and made already mentioned propositions to me, which however, as already happened (mentioned?), were refused and forbidden by me. Likewise, before the wedding, it pleased His Majesty to make another another extremely important and, to someone led by vanity, advantageous recommendation to me, which, God be praised, I in the deepest humility refused. My family would thereby be made happy for a time, but also be envied and persecuted by many people, and, in the end, become unhappy. I see it as an especially grace of the Almighty that he had given me the strength and courage to avoid this extremely gracious but also extremely dangerous favor.
* Mildred note: It always makes me laugh, but the Elephant Order in Denmark is serious business! I guess having your order named after a Golden Fleece or especially a garter is objectively more ridiculous, I'm just used to those!
Yeah, Moltke, I can see a number of ways this could go wrong:
- Alienate the other nobility and ruin that tightrope you're walking you're walking as a powerful royal favorite.
- Denmark has to pass up a better political alliance, like having a queen related to Fritz instead of to Some Dude from Mecklenburg.
- Your daughter has to watch her husband cheat on her.
- Your daughter gets an STD.
- Your daughter gets abused by an alcoholic with anger management issues.
- Your daughter and Frederik don't actually get along, and you get stuck in the middle.
- Your daughter and Frederik don't actually get along, and Frederik blames you.
And what would Moltke gain from this marriage alliance? Literally nothing except vanity, as far as I can tell. Normally I would accuse him of being disingenuous there, but in this case, he really has everything he wants. It can only go downhill from here.
But you may notice Moltke doesn't actually say anything about marriage, which is why Holm says "clearly implies." The editor of Moltke's memoirs adds a footnote:
Count Moltke here, as elsewhere in the memoirs, does not want to say or speak plainly. What he is referring to, however, must have been the king's idea of marrying a daughter of the count himself. This I have from what I believe to be the best possible source. According to the age conditions, the daughter cannot have been anyone other than Count Moltke's eldest daughter Catherine Sophie Wilhelmine, born October 14, 1737, and she was also married to Count Hannibal Wedel-Wedelsborg at an unusually early age, hardly 14 3/4 years old, on June 16, 1752, i.e. about a month before the king's marriage. He died at a young age as Privy Councilor and Master of the Court to Princess Sophie Magdalene.
And that,
In this case, maybe it's not so bad that her husband died young? Widows had it pretty good in these societies, as such things go.
Okay, geni.com says the husband was born in November 1731, so "only" 6 years older than her. I was afraid it was more! And he died at age 34 in 1766, meaning she was widowed after 12 years of marriage, at age 26.
Oof, she gets pregnant in less than a year, though, and has 4 kids: 1753, 1755, 1760, 1762. So she's a widow with a bunch of kids on her hands.
But she lives to be 68, dying only in 1806. Let's hope something worked out for her in that time.
Speaking of Moltke and his kids, though, he got married in 1735, and I totally predicted his oldest son's name...*drumroll*...Christian Frederik! These people are so predictable. (You may notice/appreciate how consistent I've been about spelling Frederik the Danish way. At one point, Oettinger has to write, "Friedrich--I speak now of Friedrich V of Denmark, not Friedrich II of Prussia...")
Less predictable: young Moltke married when he didn't have a lot of money (although apparently his wife's father did, so that helped), after a 7-year engagement. That means he must have gotten engaged around 17 or 18, married as soon as he could, remained married 25 years, then got married again in about 4 months after his wife died, and remained married until he died. Producing 22 kids in that time. This was an extremely married man!
So here's the other thing. We all know Frederik didn't want to get married. I've read in a number of places that the remarriage was extremely unpopular with the Danish population at large, because Louise had been really popular (she was friendly! learned Danish and taught her kids Danish! no one had ever done that before!) and they thought it was in bad taste.
Moltke's official reason was "for the good of the state," but all my secondary sources say "because the nobles wanted to get Frederik under control."
But, like, they tried Operation Get Frederik Under Control Via Marriage, and it didn't work the first time! What makes anyone think it's going to work any better the second time? (Spoiler: it doesn't.)
So really, the only reasons I can think of that this remarriage makes sense is:
1. Operation Be Related to Someone Powerful, like Fritz
2. That statement in Moltke's memoirs where he (paraphrasing from memory) thanks God for sending him a second wife to comfort him so soon after his first wife's death.
I kind of suspect the real driver here is Moltke's deep emotional conviction that remarriage is the best thing for you, which he rationalized as "But who doesn't want to be related to Fritz three different ways??"
Selena, I'm going to read Hartmann, but you know how slow and easily distracted I am--do you remember how Bernstorff the anti-Prussian foreign minister felt about this marriage?
Also, I just want to say that someone I was reading today, maybe Holm, maybe Oettinger, said that Juliana Maria is to be praised for not joining a conspiracy with Fritz to overthrow Bernstorff, because she could so easily have done that.
Okay, with luck I sleep more tonight and have actual concentration tomorrow and can go back to proper German and French practice and stop rambling at everyone about my latest Danish obsession. I have German to read! [ETA: Yes, of course I've been reading German today, but it makes a difference when it's for practice rather than detective work.] Philippe the Badly Combed wants to know what happened to French! Eugene is sad at his neglect.
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
Again with the Caroline connection: reminder that Louise's mother won hearts and minds by learning English even before Anne died, back when everyone was still in Hannover, making her husband learn English, and making her children learn English (including poor absent Fritz of Wales in Hannover, who had it on his teaching schedule). All of which made her way more popular than her father-in-law G1. Louise came from a family which did have the experience of ruling over a country with a different native language.
do you remember how Bernstorff the anti-Prussian foreign minister felt about this marriage?
No, unfortunately I don't.
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
And that, [personal profile] cahn, being married off at 14 3/4 years because your dad is the king's BFF and the king wants to be related to him, is Reason #2569 Why You Am Glad You Did Not Live in the Past. Especially with Two X Chromosomes.
YEEEEEAH. I feel like it's so sad when we learn that these past women have a horrible terrible no-good life but at the same time it's all "but XX had a near escape! Just listen to what her life COULD have been like if it had gone down this path instead!"
You may notice/appreciate how consistent I've been about spelling Frederik the Danish way.
haha, I have appreciated this!
1. Operation Be Related to Someone Powerful, like Fritz
Wait, isn't that the usual reason for nobility to get married?
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
Well, it's not like the Golden Fleece was at home in Burgundy. :) Also the Order of the Garter gets the price for best motto with Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense, supposedly what Edward III' said while picking up the garter of the not his wife lady he was dancing with. But "Order of the Elephant" made me smile as well, and I am curious which Dane thought to name it like that - or was it something the Oldenburgs came up with, in which case, which German?
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
A predecessor order called the Brotherhood of the Mother of God Society was founded by King Christian I around 1460 and sanctioned by the Pope. Because this brotherhood was active in ecclesiastical areas, the king had the order confirmed by bulls from Popes Pius II (1462) and Sixtus IV (1474). At that time the image of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child hung on the chain of the order, while the chain showed elephants and towers.
Re: Danish kings and their favorites: Moltke's memoirs
You're right! I wouldn't bat an eye at an Elephant Order in India.
Wait, isn't that the usual reason for nobility to get married?
Yes, but not usually a reason for them to get remarried within 6 months when they already have an heir! I can only think of one other example where a king's remarriage happened that fast (Selena will probably think of more), and it was Philip "the Frog" V, who was incapacitated and needed a wife to be his Moltke: 24/7 emotional support and go-between with the ministers.
Joseph, Philippe d'Orleans, Friedrich I of Prussia...all these people needed heirs and *still* took over a year to remarry. It was considered in bad taste for Frederik to remarry so quickly, and wasn't good PR for him or Juliana Maria.
There wasn't a huge amount of pressure at this time for Frederik to be related to someone ASAP, and the marriage to Juliana Maria didn't bring huge immediate advantages to Denmark's neutrality policy. I suspect the reasons were more internal and personal, not foreign policy related.
Wait, I just remembered Paul of Russia: he needed an heir and was pressured into remarrying in 5 months. But there was no question why: Catherine needed to stabilize her position on the throne by ensuring the succession. Having a spare for Frederik was nice, but not nearly this urgent (as it wasn't for Philip V either.)
Royal Remarriages: Byzantine Edition
Mind you, Leo was unorthodox in other ways, too, starting with his unclear parentage.
Basil I: Hi, I'm the founder of a new dynasty, starting out a lowly but handsome peasant in Macedonia. When I came to court, I caught the eye of Emperor Michael III., who liked me so much he ordered me to marry his favourite mistress. I convinced Michael my uncle Bardas, who'd brought me to court, was actually after his crown, and we killed him together. Fun times. Now, my least favourite kid Leo was born during those years, and may not have been my kid at all but Michael's, something no one was ever clear on, due to my wife having sex with us both. Anyway, Michael sadly was starting to favor another guy, and being a long term strategist with ambition, I couldn't have that, so I offed Michael and the annoying other guy and set up shop for myself. That's why my dynasty is called the Macedonian dynasty. Though newer research favours the theory we were actually Armenians. In any event: I ruled. I also couldn't stand my maybe not kid Leo, who was the bookish type and just annoying, and would have prefered to make unquestioningly-my-kid Alexander, my younger boy, my successor, so I raised him to be my Caesar and Co-Emperor. I was about to blind Leo to ensure Alexander wouldn't get trouble, but the Patriarch talked me out of it. Shows how much he knew. Then I died in the aftermath of a hunting accident, and wouldn't you know it, Leo reburied Michael with great ceremony in the Imperial Mausoelon basically the moment I closed my eyes. I knew it!
Leo IV: I kept on brother Alexander as my Co-Emperor, though I didn't give him any power. Still: no castration, no blinding, is what I'm saying. I was a fraternally minded guy in general, like the time I made my other younger brother John at age 19 Patriarch of Constantinople, firing the previous Patriarch for all the fuss he made about my marriages. But to tell things in order, my wives were:
1.) Theophano Martinakia: Dad made me marry her. So of course, I couldn't stand her. (Hi Fritz! Hi, Heinrich!) The relationship between us being what it was. We had a daughter, so shortly after I made it to the throne, I made he retire into a nunnery. This, I'll have you know, is an absolutely valid reason to dissolve a marriage. (Hi, Peter the Great!). I then married:
2.) Zoe Zaoutzaina: My true love. (The first one.) She had been my mistress for years by the time I dissolved my first marriage and married her. Now, some sources say I married her again after Theophano M. died in that nunnery, and some say I didn't, but I certainly demanded everyone treat her as the Empress, so chances are I considered us married. In any event, we sadly had only daughters. This left me with an obvious problem when Zoe died. Which brings me to:
3.) Eudokia Baiana. My beloved Zoe died in May 899, and I married Eudokia in the spring of 900, so yeah, only a few months. But that wasn't what got people's feathers ruffled. Third marriages were considered illegal as a rule, but I went down on my knees to the Patriarch, pointing out that brother Alex really wouldn't cut it as sole Emperor, and he said yes to Eudokia. Within a year, she got pregnant and delivered a boy. Alas, this son lived only for a few days, and she died as well. You can see my ongoing problem. Not least because people said that clearly, my second marriage had already been sinful, not to mention the third, and God was punishing me by refusing me a living son. Well, I disagreed. Which brings me to:
4.) Zoe Karbonopsina. My true love (the second one.) No one knows when I met my second beloved Zoe, but around 905, we already had been an item for years. That's when she gave birth to a living son at the end of the year, whom I, clearly stating my intentions, named Constantine. You can see why I just had to marry her in January 906, thus legitimizing little C. Now I had to raise hell till the Patriarch agreed to baptize little C, but he straight out refused to marry me to Zoe, so I fired him and got my own pet priest to marry us. We lived happily and controversially ever after till I died in 912, but I'm sure you want to know what happend to Zoe, because my girl proved to be an Imperial badass.
Alex - remember my half brother Alex, technically my Co-Emperor all this time? - became the senior Emperor upon my death, little C still being a young child. Alex instantly recalled the previously fired Patriarch, and locked up my Zoe in a nunnery. Where she didn't stay long. Alex promptly blundered politically with the Bulgars and the Arabs simultanously and died within the year, in 913. My girl Zoe came back and claimed the regency. Now the Patriarch wanted to be Regent himself, made the Senate swear they'd never recognize her as Empress, and locked her up on a nunnery again. But Zoe did not take this lying down. She organized an overthrow of the Patriarch as Regent within a year, in 914, and made him publically recognize her as Empress and sole Regent in exchange for letting him stay Patriarch, and, you know, alive. That's when he caved, recognized her and, oh yeah, our marriage. Did I have great taste in Zoes or what?
Re: Royal Remarriages: Byzantine Edition
When you think you're a frog, exceptions are made. ;) (The reason apparently given by historians was that Philip was so uxorious because he had a strong sex drive and was too pious to cheat on his wife, but I'm with Kamen, who understands a thing or two about mental illness and says the guy was dependent on his wives for emotional support. Frederik, and Denmark I guess, are lucky Moltke had such robust health and outlived Frederik (by 26 years)).
It is rather tempting to be touched by reading *all* the letters where Frederik keeps saying he will belong to Moltke until his death/the grave/his last sigh, that only death will separate them, etc., and to realize that he kept his word: he wanted Moltke there for his final operation, and died in his arms. If only dysfunction hadn't accounted for so much of that!
(I have an AU where he gets to abdicate and go be part of the
WeasleyMoltke family, and somehow that makes things better (via magic :P).)Did I have great taste in Zoes or what?
You did! I didn't know this story at all, thanks for passing it on. One day I will study Byzantine history, and then I'll have all these lovely write-ups to refresh myself on that will be very helpful.
Re: Royal Remarriages: Byzantine Edition
Now, my least favourite kid Leo was born during those years, and may not have been my kid at all but Michael's, something no one was ever clear on, due to my wife having sex with us both.
Wow!
Zoe Zaoutzaina: My true love. (The first one.)
Heeee!
That's when she gave birth to a living son at the end of the year, whom I, clearly stating my intentions, named Constantine.
Heh. I mean, presumably it could be the other way around, right? That maybe he thought God was punishing him too, but clearly when he actually did get a living son, he would have been like, "....or maybe not!"
She organized an overthrow of the Patriarch as Regent within a year, in 914, and made him publically recognize her as Empress and sole Regent in exchange for letting him stay Patriarch, and, you know, alive. That's when he caved, recognized her and, oh yeah, our marriage.
Okay, that's amazing. Go Zoe!
Re: Royal Remarriages: Byzantine Edition
In this case, Michael (III) wants to have a word!
Michael: My Dad died when I was two years old, so yes, I was another child Emperor. My mother Theodora, yes, another one - look, I can't help it if lots of Byzantine Empresses are named after THE Theodora, if they're not called Theophano instead - and the Eunuch Theokistos ruled for me during the first decade plus a few years. Early on, Mom's brother Bardas made a play, but she kicked him out of the regency council; keep your eyes on Uncle Bardas. Anyway, When I was 15, Mom knew the end of the regency was fast approaching, and wanted to marry me off while she still could select my bride. Because she couldn't stand my beloved Eudokia Ingarina. who, yes, was my mistress already. The bride Mom chose for me was also called Eudokia (Dekapolitissa) - I know, I know - , and yeah, couldn't stand her. Teenage me had it with Mom, then, and Uncle Bardas told me the way to a free life was to overthrow her and her Eunuch and install him as Regent. Okay, says I, and he kills Theokistos, kicks Mom out of the palace and becomes my right hand man.
Now, my image after this point was created by my successor who had to justify my demise and his own act and paid historians to present me as a useless drunk, with his historians borrowing entire descriptions of Nero and Mark Antony to describe me, and saddling me with the moniker "The Drunkard". More modern historians, however, have adopted my cause and point out that contemporary Arab and Bulgar chroniclers describe me as an active Emperor instead. Basically, they think I took over Mom's job and Uncle Bardas took over that of Theokistos. He was an A plus general, and while I was with him in the field a few times, I mostly remained in Constantinople. I won't deny I loved visiting the hippodrome and partying, but I'll have you know the Empire kept florishing and recovering from the humilation conga that had been the original Caliphate establishing. It wasn't all due to Uncle Bardas!
So here I am, enjoying the occasional trip the Hippodrome and party and my darling Eudokia Ingarina, when I meet this total hunk from Macedonia, though modern historians think he might have been Armenian instead. Despite all that happened: Basil was ripped, is what I'm saying. Also really charming. We first bonded over horses, and then he became my bff and favourite person and rapidly rose through the ranks. By which I mean that I first made him Master of the Horse, and then when my chamberlain died, I made him Chamberlain instead.
Now, usually the Chamberlains were all eunuchs, for the simple reason that they lived with the Imperial family in their living quarters, and often next to or in the Emperor's bedroom. Their title, literally translated, means "he who sleeps at the side". Basil was the first non-Eunuch in the job since I don't know when, and I could hardly castrate such a fine specimen, could I? I was just happy to have him with me. As to the inevitable question: Basil's historians had a mighty problem later on. On the one hand, they were paid to trash talk me, so of course they insinuated I had an eye for the boys as well as the girls. On the other hand, they couldn't do more than insinuate because the guy I was absolutely closest to was their new boss, and thus they insisted our relationship was completely and utterly straight because he couldn't possibly have a gay thought in his life. You should see their contortions when it comes to how I married Basil to my darling Eudokia Ingarina. Because see, if they said Basil and darling Eudokia did not have sex until I died, they slandered the paternity of Basil's oldest sons. If they said Basil and Eudokia did have sex in our years together, they implied Basil was fine with his wife having sex with me, and it's not far from there to the idea of a threesome, even for monks writing history. Me? I say they were my two favourite people, and I just loved being close to them.
So while this was going on, Uncle Bardas kept sideeying the situation, and said I should name him Caesar, what with me not having a legitimate son. Basil said this meant he had it in for me. Would Basil lie to me? We then did this master plan where I made Uncle Bardas feel save by appointing him Caesar, and then, when he thought he was safe, Basil offed him. Don't look at me like that, Uncle Bardas was the one who had convinced me to kick Mom out and off Theokistos back in the day. Just, next thing you know Basil, who was a few years older than me, says I should adopt him and make him Caesar instead. Historians are divided as to why I did that, what with the Bardas precedent. The older ones think I was just that dumb. The more recent ones have this theory that since I was still married to the other, unloved Eudokia whom I couldn't stand, and my beloved Eudokia now kept giving birth to sons, I had to do something to ensure that those sons would be able to become royal princes and in the long term able to succeed me. Hence the Basil adoption and elevation of him to Caesar. And then there are always those who think Basil was just that sexy.
You can see where this is going, I guess. The exact circumstances of Basil deciding it was time for the ultimate step are controversial again. Later the official story was that I was eyeing another fave and when in my cups told Basil that hey, I could just as easily make him Caesar, and Basil decided it was time to act. But thing is, while everyone assumes this guy got killed as well, no one can agree as to his name. Be that as it may, Basil got me drunk and to bed, as my chamberlain made sure there were no guards posted at my bedchamber, showed up with some thugs and killed me. Gruesomeley. My hands were cut off first and then I got the literal stab in the heart after having already received the proverbial one. I was only 27 years old, and had reigned in name since I was 2. Because I had made Basil Caesar already, he automatically succeeded me and didn't even have to talk the Patriarch into crowning him, what with him already consecrated. And then, as a final indignity, he didn't have me buried with the other imperial bodies but in a minor monastery. This just changed when Leo became Emperor and had me reburied properly.
So was Leo my son? Impossible to know. I mean, you could assume Basil and darling Eudokia Ingerina had no sex and then we'd all have known he and two other brothers of his were my kids, but in that case: how come my darling and I did not have a single baby together in the ten years BEFORE Basil the hunk entered my life? She only started to become pregnant, a lot, once Basil was with us in the imperial bedchamber. (Hi, Gustav!) Mind you, I don't blame Leo if he wanted to think he was my kid rather than Basil's, what with how his own relationship with Basil turned out. Sorry to say that my former hunky bff and killer might have made a competent Emperor, but a lousy dad to Leo. What with him having to be talked out of blinding the kid in favour to disqualify him from the throne. Basil even thought Leo was somehow responsible for his hunting accident, at least that's what he said on his deathbed. Sorry not sorry if that's the case, Basil. I really thought we had something!
Speaking of: no historian ever, and certainly no chronicler in Basil's pay, bothered to find out what my darling Eudoxia Ingarina thought of all of this. Remember, she kept being married to Basil as his Empress and gave birth to some more kids, so clearly they didn't stop having sex. Was she secretly hating every minute? Was she pragmatic and thought, better Empress than mourning my memory in some nunnery? Had she conspired with him, and I really hope that's not the case, seeing as to how we were together since I was a young teen and I would have married her back then if Mom hadn't made me marry the other Eudokia? I shall never know, and neither will you. Cheers!
Re: Royal Remarriages: Byzantine Edition
Despite all that happened: Basil was ripped, is what I'm saying.
LOLOLOLOL
Because see, if they said Basil and darling Eudokia did not have sex until I died, they slandered the paternity of Basil's oldest sons. If they said Basil and Eudokia did have sex in our years together, they implied Basil was fine with his wife having sex with me, and it's not far from there to the idea of a threesome, even for monks writing history.
WOW
And then there are always those who think Basil was just that sexy.
Heh!
And then, as a final indignity, he didn't have me buried with the other imperial bodies but in a minor monastery. This just changed when Leo became Emperor and had me reburied properly.
Ah! Now I connect that with Leo's ascension that you talked about in the previous writeup :)
but in that case: how come my darling and I did not have a single baby together in the ten years BEFORE Basil the hunk entered my life? She only started to become pregnant, a lot, once Basil was with us in the imperial bedchamber.
...
UM. Wow!
But also, I thought you had suggested that Basil thought he was Michael's kid... although maybe it's just that he wasn't sure!
Aw Eudoxia Ingarina. Yeah, it would be really interesting to find out what all these people thought.
Re: Royal Remarriages: Byzantine Edition
Unless we're assuming Eudokia and Basil did not have sex as long as Michael was still alive, I don't think there's any way anyone could have known who the father of those children born during that time was, including Eudokia. I mean, it's not like the Byzantines could have done a blood test. In any event, the general assumption in Constantinople gossip was that Michael was the bio dad, but the problem with this, as Robin the podcaster points out, is that Michael and Eudokia Ingerna had been having a sexual relationship for ten years before Basil's arrival on the scene, and did not have a child. Nor did Michael have a child with anyone else. (Not just his unwanted wife.) Which would argue for Basil as the bio dad. But then again, unlikely things do happen, and maybe Michael's semen had a low fertility but it finally worked during the Basil era. In any event, like I said, there was no way to be sure if Eudokia was sleeping with both of them, which it looks like she was.
Mind you: Basil was the legal father of the following sons, and let's compare and contrast his behavior towards them:
1) Constantine (died young; we don't know who his mother was, as she does not get named in the primary sources, but the asusmption is it was Basil's first, pre coming to Constantinople wife from ye olde Macedonia days); Constantine was supposed to be Basil's successor in the first few years of Basil's reign, he made hm Caesar, and then young Constantine died. The next oldest son was:
2.) Leo the future Emperor, definitely the son of Eudokia and ?. Famously bookish (wrote poetry, lectures, legal commentary etc.); Basil's behavior towards him comes across as the Byzantium version of FW and Fritz. Tried not to have him as his successor. This, btw, is why Leo never was on campaign with his dad as a boy, and had two years of house arrest as a teenager after having been accused of conspiring against his father.
3.) Stephen (Eudokia was pregnant with him when Michael got murdered, so he's another one whose paternity has a question mark): Basil had him castrated and dedicated to the church as a baby. This was the first time an Emperor did this to his own legal son. (Doing it to either bastards or other people's sons had precedent, with the goal of preventing them from ever claiming the throne. Here of course it also had the double purpose, since presumably Stephen was supposed to be not just a simple monk but have a career in the church.) This was the brother whom Leo later made Patriarch of Constantinople after firing the previous Patriarch.
4.) Alexander (born years after Michael's death, thus definitely Basil's son. Basil loved him and made him Caesar after Constantine had kicked the bucket).
Now that certainly makes it look like Basil thought Constantine and Alexander were his kids and Leo and Stephen were not, so I don't blame the majority of Byzantines for assuming the same. Otoh, see above re: Michael not siring any children with anyone before Basil appeared on the scene.
What learning about this taught me: am I glad FW wasn't a Byzantine Emperor. I don't know who'd have gotten castrated if he'd been one, but someone would have been...